The Art of Jewish Food: Five Boroughs Food Talk

The Five Boroughs Food Talk at Symphony Space was an interesting event. I liked how the panelists had very diverse backgrounds. Some of them were Jewish and others were not. A few of the panelists at the event run Jewish food businesses and some are simply food historians. I felt that this diversity among the panelists allowed for a nice variation of perspectives regarding Jewish food. Although I enjoyed the discussion overall, I did not appreciate that it seemed to be targeted at a very specific audience. A person that did not have much prior knowledge regarding Jewish food or culture could easily have had a difficult time understanding the conversation. On a more positive note, I did enjoy the question and answer session at the end of the panelists’ interaction with the host. I felt that it was a good way to create a more personal connection between the audience and the panelists. I was, however, disappointed that I did not get called on to ask a question I had. I was going to ask Naama Shefi about what Israeli food, aside from the typical falafel and shwarma, she thinks will be coming to America in the near future. Finally, I was very happy that we were given goody bags at the end!